UK VOD services facing enhanced Ofcom regulation

As part of its rolling implementation of the Media Act, Ofcom has announced that major streamers with over 500,000 UK users (such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+) will need to comply with new, as-yet-unpublished standards and accessibility codes.

The draft On-demand Programme Services (Tier 1 Services) Regulations 2026 are currently scheduled to take effect from 1 April 2026. As part of this process, Ofcom will then hold a public consultation to allow for VOD services (among others) to respond to both codes. 

Ofcom have not yet indicated how long this consultation period will run for, although previous consultations have typically lasted several months.

The new VOD standards codes will then come into effect one year after they are published by Ofcom. ‘Tier 1’ services will have four years to meet the requirements of the accessibility code, with interim targets after two years.

Until now, large VOD services were subject to less stringent Ofcom regulations than traditional linear broadcasters (although many choose to comply with higher standards anyway).